Times+ Reviews 28

Haven’t really got to use my subscription but the cancellation process is built to squeeze most of the customers. Yeah as customers we should read our T&C however for those subscribing to digital version directly on TT website they have discriminating rules of calling 2 days prior via phone while Google & Apple Pay subscribers can just click a button. Customer service was utterly unhelpful.

The model is designed for you to forget to cancel as they make it not easy and then they steadfastly refuse to give a refund if you cancel just before it's due to restart again, really shocking for such a well thought of brand.

Been a user for a number of years. Sometimes I wonder why.
When anything goes wrong (latest is that I cant access comments) you are directed to a WhatsApp help channel. Then the bot says it’s transferring you to an operative. 2 hours later and still no human arrives.
Then, randomly, when I’m on the app I’m not allowed to comment because I am required to subscribe to comment ….but I am a subscriber and am in my app where it confirms my subscription.
Then you have the Times coverage of sports. If you are into football that’s fine but Tennis? Forget it. Every now and then (usually when Raducanu has played) you get a few articles but then, in the middle of the Cincinnati Open the articles are five days old.
Overall I think I may have been kind giving them 2*

I took out a 3-month trial with The Times+ and forgot to cancel - an honest mistake. But instead of sending a reminder before auto-renewing (which most reputable companies do), they charged me £26 without warning and made cancelling a nightmare.

I was not reminded the trial was ending, did not consent to renewal, and haven’t used the service since. I cancelled the same day I saw the charge and the company is refusing to refund me.

I spent 34 minutes on the phone with one agent (Georgia) and another 15 minutes with a second (Ruby) - neither of whom could resolve the issue. I was also given false information about the offers included (e.g. told cinema tickets were unlimited - they’re not). I cancelled immediately once I noticed the charge, having not used the service since the trial ended, and still they refused a refund.

Their model clearly relies on customers forgetting to cancel, and once you're in, you're stuck paying unless you push back hard. No reminders, no courtesy, no fair treatment.

Avoid at all costs unless you enjoy being charged for services you didn’t use and wasting your time on unhelpful customer service. I’ve now raised a chargeback with my bank and will be escalating this further.

took subscription after trial period without giving any notice - because I didn't notice immediately they have refused to refund - who would pay £25.99 a month to look at the times online. Abrupt customer services just basically said sorry you're screwed. dreadful don't sign up with these guys I suggest.

Really pushy sales person when trying to cancel my subscription. Kept trying to sell me a number of different packages that I didn't want. Awful to deal with.

Awful. Tried to cancel my renewal following a FoC period, on the DAY OF RENEWAL, and was told point-blank that my consumer rights, under the new Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCC Act), did not apply. Therefore no cooling off period of 14 days from the day that the FoC or reduced period ended. Despite the fact that the Act came into effect from 1 JANUARY this year. I will not be paying for a service I have not received, despite having reasonably requested to cancel within my rights, only to be gaslit to the effect that a law that was introduced in 2023, received royal assent in 2024 and came into effect in 2025 is not in fact applicable. Just don't be tempted to sign up with the Times or Sunday Times in future, as this is exactly the type of aggressive mismarketing that the DMCC Act was introduced to protect against.

Dysfunctional & dishonourable, just never seems to work.

it portrays truth

The app never loads 1st time and constantly crushes. I've seen others comment about the situation and the response is that they cannot reproduce the problem. There must be a cover up for a useless app.

Awful experience. I tried to cancel subscription several times, as other people have they make it as difficult as possible. I had phone calls from the' Outbound team trying to collect the £26 and was told they would cancel on my behalf. This has not happened and I am getting emails and calls demanding the money. The customer service person i just spoke to saif people leave bad reviews on TP when they have a gripe! These people are idiots and crooks.

The app experience has been disappointing. Cancelling the subscription is unnecessarily complicated as other reviewers mention and long winded for a company that has an app. I also lost access to my email account after sign up, which further complicated my access to the app, and it wasn’t clear whether my subscription was through Apple or not, leaving me confused whether I had cancelled it. I will therefore also dispute the transaction with the bank, as i never received the Terms and conditions as their sign up process did not confirm my email account and they appear to have been sending emails to an account I did not have access to.

Despite explaining my situation and confirming that I hadn’t used the service for over 3.5 months of a 4-month trial, the company has chosen to strictly adhere to their T&Cs, refusing to refund a subscription fee that should never have been charged.

This approach feels dishonorable, cynical ploy to extract a months subscription from me. I would recommend going with The Economist, a company that prioritises customer satisfaction and handles these situations far more ethically.

It strikes me they are happy to loose customers instead of offering a refund if you have cancelled or do not intend to continue with the subscription.

Clearly it makes good business sense to keep customers happy and improve your services in the hope you might see some return, but clearly some senior managers don't thing being ethically led is good business. Compare them to the Economist whom win hands down with their trials. I have now escalated my case with their senior team and await a response, I will post details of the response here once it arrive.

I am utterly disappointed with my experience with the Times+. Their lack of transparency and communication regarding their trial period and price increase is appalling. I received NO welcome email or reminders about the upcoming change, leading me to believe the subscription wasn't even active.

When I was unexpectedly charged the full price, their customer service refused a refund, citing a technicality about the cancellation timeframe. This is unacceptable, especially when their lack of communication directly contributed to the situation.

I have disputed the charge with my bank and will be pursuing this matter further. I strongly advise potential subscribers to be cautious and consider alternative news sources that value transparency and customer satisfaction.

Avoid the Times+ at all costs!

Do not sign up to their £1 trial!
Like other reviewers, this organisation is a scam. They called me a month before my trial period was due to expire asking for up to date payment details. I said I had no intention to renew so no need to update my card details. She spoke to her manager and kept me on hold for ages then came back to me and said that’s fine. Now they have stuck a charge of £25.99 and said they don’t have a record of my conversation on 5 Aug (even thought they accept a call took place that day) and that if I don’t pay it will remain on my account and won’t let me cancel! Really dodgy, sign up at your own risk! They are just out to steal your money. I intend to report to trading standards and escalate because such practice doesnt seem legal or ethical to me. They are also really rude and aggressive.

Despite the rigorous journalism of the Times, their subscription model is predatory.
You will get no warning of a free trial ending, they will bill you £27 a month until you realise and if you want to cancel something you subscribed to online (in minutes) you can't.
Not only can live chat not cancel, but they are rude and simply waffle on over terms and conditions. You need to call and convince someone you want to leave.

Subscriptions are impossible to cancel. They make it as difficult as possible. Gave up after multiple attempts with their amusingly named 'Customer service'. You wait on-line for about 45 minutes and they then refer you to a call centre. Pathetic service.

Much quicker and painless to cancel your DD or credit card.

Its almost impossible to cancel an online subscription - i had to google to find out how to do it, you have to ring during working hours. Having finally found time to do that today i rang twice, was cut off twice. I have finally cancelled however the service is rude and inefficient. Its very easy to opt in and almost impossible to opt out. So very disappointing. I rang customer service after, the operator didnt know how i made a complaint, kept wanting to put me back through to the cancellation team., I finally got an email address which i will try but frankly i will not subscribe again. Avoid at all costs

They make it so you can't cancel subscription online so have to call - then call centre busy, tried for couple of days in a row... then I missed cut off time to cancel subscription - charged £25 - then given some sales guff trying to justify what amounts to cynical con.

Did the three month trial, cancelled, and still got charged £25.99 for the first month. Customer services kept fobbing me off and referring me to Apple, even though my bank account clearly showed it was The Times who had requested payment through PayPal.
Avoid!!!

I got persistent messages for a Trial period for Times online newspaper, so I finally decided to sign up for £1 offer for 4 months. However after reading some articles I decided it wasn’t for me and phoned to cancel my trial subscription one month before the end of offer.
Imagine the shock I got when £25.99 was taken from my bank account exactly 4 months after the trial start date.
Now I will have to chase for a refund but if I had not checked my bank statement, Times would have started taking £25.99 a month even though I have an email to confirm my CANCELLATION!!!
BEWARE of TIMES newspapers TRIAL OFFERS